RERA lacks online audit report provision, builders left in lurch

Left with only five days to file the mandatory annual audit reports online, builders in Karnataka are in a quandary. Reason: the Real Estate Regulatory Authority Karnataka (RERA) is yet to make provision for the procedure on its website. As per the RERA Act, builders have to file an audit report of each of their projects for financial year 2017-18 on or before September 30, failing which they will attract a penalty of up to 5% of the project cost. This is the first audit report to be uploaded by builders as RERA came into force in Karnataka only last July. In fact, many builders are ready with their audit report which has to mention details like money collected from buyers, amount spent on the project and progress in terms of percentage of work completed. But the hitch is that they aren’t able to submit the reports because neither have RERA authorities released the format in which they are to be submitted, nor is the software needed for filing them online ready. “The main concern is that under Section 4 (2)(L)(D) of the RERA Act, the last date cannot be extended under any circumstance as it is a central act and builders may have to end up paying penalty for no fault of theirs,” said Vinay Thyagaraja, a RERA consultant and chartered accountant.